Introduction
What is the overall aim of the Human Genome Project (HGP), in a nutshell?
The HGP was created in order to increase our knowledge and understanding about how and why our bodies sometimes fail to be in full working order, and to give more information about genetic diseases and what the und erlying genetic causes of common illnesses are.
The Department of Energy (DOE) was the main institute to start the HGP, and their reasons were firstly to be able to detect DNA mutations in people exposed to radiation (such as Hiroshima survivors from WW2) and also to improve the development of more accurate detection technology whilst strengthening the rapport between its laboratories and the American corporations funding them.When was the HGP started?
In 1988, an international teamwork of scientists officially kick-started the HGP by pooling their knowledge and technology together so that they could locate and map out the total number of genes in the human genome.
However, it was as early as 1984 when the first meeting took place, and it was as late as 1998 when the estimated completion dates were announced. Both publicly-funded genome laboratories and privately-funded industries announced this at the same time and this sparked the international media's interest in the famous "race" between public and private HGP researchers.What happened during those 16 years of running the HGP?
From 1984 to 2000, an amazing level of dedication and achievement was observed in scientists all around the world. Considering it was only 16 years, the equivalent of decades of research was completed in this astonishingly short period of time. From 2001 to the present day, work on human genome sequencing is still being undertaken. Here is the low-down on the key dates of the HGP era...
1984
| 1987 | 1988
| 1990 | 1992
| 1993 | 1994
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1995 | 1996
| 1997 | 1998
| 1999 | 2000
| 2001 - 2003
2001 - 2003: The sequencing of the genome still continues to build on the working draft; each chromosome is now being fully sequenced to the high quality required by the HGP guidelines. In 2001, chromosome 20 was fully completed, followed by chromosomes 14, Y 7 and 6 in 2003. The year 2003 was designated that of the completion of the human genome project - a suitable year since this was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix DNA structure. On the 14th of April 2003, the complete reference genome sequence of the Homo Sapiens (human) species was available for downloading from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website. |
What happens now?
This website gives a brief account of several different answers that could be stated in response to this crucial question in genetics. You will be provided with a taste of what the future holds for all the institutions and fields of research that can now use the results of the completed human genome.
Go to the Links & References page for further reading on this area.